The world is a pretty scary place these days, but that didn’t stop your imaginations from taking you to some even darker, stranger realms. This latest contest produced some of the most bizarre and intriguing flash fiction we’ve seen to date, and that’s saying something. Fittingly, our Flash Worlds contest drew in submissions from all around the globe. We saw entries from the USA, U.K., Canada, Australia, Japan, Switzerland, Denmark, Israel, Singapore and Croatia.

Once the results were decided, we were happy to reveal a good number of familiar names and also so many new ones. We feel fortunate to serve as hub for so much talent and weirdness.

But you didn’t come here for the preamble.

Now on to the short list. The following writers had stories that made it through several rounds of cuts, but didn’t quite squeak into the Top 10.

The Top 10 that you’ll find below will be published in our forthcoming Flash Worlds mega-issue, which will run later this week. They will also be included in our third-annual Prize Winners Anthology print issue, which is now only a few short months away. You can check out our Prize Winners Anthology Vol. 2 here.

Okay, okay. Here’s the good stuff.

10th Place – “A Visitation” by Chloe Seim

9th Place – “This Ape’s on Fire” by Lazarus Gray

8th Place – “Libation” by Gregory Ariail

7th Place – “Auroras of Arverne” by Voima Oy

6th Place – “The Deceased of 120 Primorsky Street” by Michael Carter

5th Place – “Tribe” by Nikolaj Volgushev

4th Place – “Stuck in the Bathroom” by John Barrale

And now on to those stories that were a little slice of Valhalla.

3rd Place ($50)

“Dog Eat Dog”by Christina Dalcher

2nd Place ($100)

“Come Away to the Water”by Celia Daniels

1st Place ($200)

“Listening to the Animals”by Emily Livingstone

Congrats to the winners and a huge thanks to everyone who participated in the Flash Worlds contest. You transported us to new realms that can serve as oases in these troubled times. We couldn’t do these contests without you. Check back in a few days for the Flash Worlds mega-issue!